Saturday, January 16, 2010

Spring - or Just the Delusion Thereof ?

We have been gifted with unseasonably warm and sunny weather for this time of year and Doc and Sally and Molly, optimists all, think it is actually early spring. I know better, and so does Jack, though he insists on acting like a young lamb, frolicking about as if he's grown rockets on the soles of his feet.

Today the woman removed Doc's blanket and he rolled five times in a row, working the snow well into his back. It's the kind of granular white stuff humans call "maple sugar snow" because a few weeks from now it will signal that the sap has begun rising in the maple trees. I have tasted the maple syrup they make from boiling down gallons of the sap and it is delicious; of course they keep it locked away in the house. I would like to go on record as saying we are nowhere near maple syrup season. This frolicking will end in tears - mark my words. And the real snow will return with a vengeance.

In the true spirit of the winter olympics, Jack has expanded his horizons on the sports front. Not content with rassling me and playing high-speed hide-and-seek in the trees, today he added the high jump on ice to his repertoire. Not intentionally. It came about when the woman rinsed out the wheelbarrow affair and left it on it's side in the sun. You can guess the rest. That crazy old man came tearing around the corner of the barn, saw the wheelbarrow at the last second, and cleared it like a puissance jumper! Both the woman and I would have benefitted from the use of smelling salts. Jack laughed like one demented and said "heehee, today i could jump clear over tha moon!" I fear he's become as mad as a hatter.

I will carry on as the lone voice of reason in this northern looney bin.

7 comments:

hehe.... just thinking of Jack flying in the air made me laugh right out loud. I'm a bit ashamed to admit I have to sneak off to the dictionary though... hmmm puissance ... ya got me on that one Sheaffer... maybe it's a horsey thing... off to check..

oh...and...we, too, have been lulled by unseasonably warm and melty weather. My alleyway is slush a foot deep and I had to leave my old cargo van parked on the street...couldn't get in or out the other day..got stuck and had to wait for a push by the garbage guys.... thank goodness they know me well... I bake them cookies every so often....guess I owe them now....

Yep.... I just know we are going to get plenty more snow and cold....very soon now.... it's just a glitch to throw us off guard. good thing we aren't being fooled by old Mother Nature...

HAy Sheaffer - didn't you say Jack is OLD? Sounds like a young donkey to me. Weather is going to be real bad here this week - lots of rain and wind. Its nice today - a bit cloudy but tomorrow - oh I can't wait for the rain!

We're having a spring-like deluge here - small rivers and streams flowing through our front field, and everyone is getting grumpy in the barn after several gorgeous days.

Sheaffer, Jack sounds like he is truly undergoing a second youth at your place. What is The Woman feeding him? I need some!

We had a visitor this weekend, who came bearing Medjool dates which were served to donkeys only. Rafer was quite serious as he chewed and chewed, enjoying every morsel of sweetness. Redford initially flung his through the air, but once it was retrieved, he realized he did indeed want to enjoy these special treats.

I have to say, I think the rest of your herd is so keen on frolic and blind optimism, it forces you into the position of practicality and reason. I feel you and Rafer should reside together, so that you might take turns being practical and kicking up your figurative heels a bit. It has to be difficult being the lone voice of reason amongst a herd of wild things.

BumbleVee, I have no interest in those puissance events - it's just a fancy word for jumping as high some crazed human can make you - or in Jack's case, as high as he can propel himself at the last minute. I prefer the burrowing method when confronted with obstacles. Our hint of spring is about to be swept away and alas I have no garbage men to assist me out of snowbanks. Keep warm, my friend.

Buddy, Jack is as old as time itself but fancies himself a young sprog and that seems to make all the difference. His metabolism seems to speed up with age. I think you may have made a mistake in your post - did you really say you were anticipating precipitation with feelings of joy? My advice is to get hold of that afghan, drape it over yourself and hide somewhere dry till it's over. Thank you for the film link - I shall watch it at my leisure and report back to you.

Billie, you got it spot on! I live in the midst of a herd of wild things, Jack being the wildest these days. We have no idea where he finds such shocking amounts of energy but he attributes it to coming from "good sturdy stock". He does have a sort of biblical air about him, so maybe he's even older than we think. I suspect he would be quite happy in the company of young Redford. And that I would find young Rafer to be a soothing companion, not prone to leaping over wheelbarrows...